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The talking heads will tell you:  "The sky is falling, the sky is falling!"  Raise your hand if you are tired of tuning into the media only to be subjected to the dramatization of the housing market!

While it is true that the market has shifted and many areas have been impacted on a large scale, it is also true that there are plenty of areas that are holding their own in these tough times.   A good portion of Western Massachusetts is one such stronghold.

While researching for market analyses, I began to notice that my graphs were all showing that market values in my area were steady.  My curiosity piqued, I decided to do some research in my office and on-line.  While not a scientific study, my results were conclusive enough to cause me to believe that my instincts were correct:  the sky WASN"T falling!

From an article in the Springfield Republican, February 10, 2008:  "Housing Prices Holding, Despite Turmoil In Market.  …the national trend of falling prices has not hit the Valley as a whole. Median home prices in Franklin, Hampden and Hampshire counties have actually held their own and even risen a little over the last few years…Donald E. Thompson, president of the Realtor Association of Pioneer Valley, predicted sales in the region will remain level in 2008 with sales last year. "

Upon reading this I continued to search for others who felt as I did, while it was a buyer's market and the time on market had increased, home values were not dropping at an alarming rate and in some cases, not at all!

From wwlp.com: February 27, 2008 6:13 p.m.

SPRINGFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS (WWLP) There's good news for home sellers in Springfield. In the midst of a national housing crunch, home values are on the rise. When it comes to housing appreciation, Springfield ranks 141 out of 291 cities. That's according to a new report by the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight.

Florida and California are the worst performers in this report, with homes losing between 4 and 6 percent of their value.

"Where some places have decreased, such as Florida, California and Vegas, Springfield and the Pioneer Valley have remained a very good place to own a home…"

I have been in real estate since 1988 and have worked through several market corrections and housing drops.  This current situation, while not great, and certainly difficult for all, may not be as severe as your media leads you to believe.  Remember, all real estate is local and the national media is not, so their gloomy forecast may not apply to you, as I feel it does not apply to my area. 

After embracing the concept of a huge lifestyle change, I knew that I had to make serious adjustments to my lifestyle, the biggest of which were the mortgages on the two properties I own.  Going from a two income family of moderate means to a one income family (me) was a huge downward adjustment.  So, I went out and hired the best REALTOR I knew….myself!

I first placed my investment property, a multi-family on the market and was hopeful that someone else would see the potential that I saw.  About a week later someone (probably a disgruntled tenant) started a fire in the basement and then flooded the house from the third floor.  The sale was put on the back burner while the restoration company and insurance took care of the issues. 

More than six months and several price reductions later, I put the house under contract.  Bank committment dates for the buyer sailed past and requests for extensions were placed….I decided to grant that, but place the house back on the market to accept offers with a kick out clause.  So far so good…..phone ringing off the hook with investors for that house, so someone should be buying it soon!

Believe it or not, that was the easy house.  My own home was built 8yrs ago by my ex-husband and I as the house we would leave "feet first".  We did all the no-no's:  overbuilt on a non-traditional lot, created an extreme interior style, you name it.  We loved it there and could never imagine having to sell.  Well….shows what we knew.  Anyways, there were absolutely NO comparables for the house.  None.  I brought in my broker to help me price it and we decided to use a per square foot approach.  After a month of painting, packing, re-decorating, staging and repairing, I left town and put the house on the market.

Nothing, nothing at all happened for a loooooong time.  How frustrating to be the seller with the endless questions of why, what else can you do, etc. and to also be the REALTOR who can't solve the dillema.  My polished professional approach didn't work on myself…I was at an impasse.

After I gave myself a stern talking to: I began a series of significant price reductions which continued to a value that made me want to curl up in the fetal position.  As I write this, there is a cooperating REALTOR at my house with her prospective buyers who were there yesterday for an hour and today for more than that.  They asked every question on the books and I am sitting by the phone expectantly waiting for that all important call,  "we wrote an offer"!

I have bought and sold my own property several times in my past, but this experience is different by leaps.  This time I am selling out of necessity, as so many other people must do in the current economy.  I am getting a huge training lesson on empathy and understanding for the consumers who must leave their dream home or liquidate their assets, often at a loss.  I hope that at the end of this bumpy road, I will be able to translate what I have learned into an ability to relate to these types of clients at a more meaningful level. 

As to the identity crisis, today I am my REALTOR, but who knows what tomorrow will bring!